I didn't. Not exactly. At least not the ones you're thinking of.
Eva's forehead furrowed as she aimed a troubled frown at the back of Sebastian's head before returning her gaze to the view.
He was right. This wasn't the herd lands of her dreams. A place she'd only touched on in passing. One she might have thought a figment of her imagination if not for the conversation she’d had with the herd lord there.
She'd encountered that place again when trapped in the mist. It had laid claim to her soul in a way this place didn't.
Which wasn't to say this place wasn't every bit as beautiful as the place she'd visited in her dreams. It was.
Breathtaking. Magnificent. You could pick any one of hundreds of adjectives and it still wouldn't capture this place adequately.
It was a sight that made Eva's chest tight, inspiring a breathless feeling even as she drew in a lungful of air.
Sebastian's wings propelled them forward as Eva was lost in her distraction, her head constantly turning for fear she'd miss something.
Kyren lifted their heads to watch them pass overhead.
Eva gasped as she caught sight of younglings playing amid the boulders and rock columns, diving between them in the same way Sebastian had taken them through the ravine.
A small Kyren whose coat looked like a dove's wings, light gray with darker spots speckled throughout, lunged from below. She nipped at her playmate's foreleg.
The playmate, a Kyren with a champagne coat, veered to the side as the rest of the Kyren scattered.
Laughter trailed through Eva's mind as the Kyren fled in opposite directions. Some dipping down to find hiding spots at the base of the columns. A few headed down to perch on a boulder that looked like it had been split in half by a giant sword.
Eva leaned over Sebastian's side, hoping to get a better look at the young Kyren.
The speckled gray Kyren looked up, letting out a surprised whicker.
One by one her playmates followed her gaze to the sky. A chorus of voices greeted Sebastian before catching sight of Eva.
What's that creature clinging to Sebastian?
Curious, a few of the Kyren lifted from the ground, following in Eva and Sebastian's wake.
What did you bring us?A Kyren asked Sebastian.
It looks like a human,the voice of a young male answered.
The champagne-colored Kyren flew close.Only two legs. You may be right.
Gasps sounded in Eva's mind as the young Kyren tried to crowd close. Sebastian kicked at one before nipping at the others.
The youths put distance between themselves and Sebastian but didn't leave.
Are you sure it's human? What is one doing here?
"Hello," Eva called, feeling like she should let them know she could hear them. "You're right. I am human and your herd lord summoned me."
Startled surprise whispered in Eva's mind.
Can she hear us?A hushed voice Eva thought belonged to the buckskin male asked.
Impossible,the champagne huffed. Humans can't hear our voices.
Eva grinned at the champagne Kyren. "I thought so too the first time I heard Sebastian. Turns out it's not nearly as impossible as you'd think."
The champagne's wings missed a beat as she wobbled in the air, sinking before she caught herself.
